Co-Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Carlyle
Search every verified Daniel D'aniello interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Dan D'Aniello, co-founder and chairman emeritus of The Carlyle Group, has discussed the evolution of private capital and the role of ESG considerations in a December 2024 podcast with KBRA. He stated that Carlyle has not created a dedicated ESG fund but instead integrates ESG factors across all its activities, products, and geographies. D'Aniello noted that the industry has moved from shareholder capitalism toward stakeholder capitalism, and he described a correlation observed internally at Carlyle where portfolio company boards with more than 30% minority membership have shown higher returns. He also commented on energy transition, stating that the firm avoids investing in thermal coal mines and coal-fired plants, while most of its power-related growth is in wind, solar, biomass, and other renewables. D'Aniello added that nuclear energy is the cleanest source but will not be "super big," and that alternative energies may provide 25-30% of U.S. energy needs but will not fulfill all of it, noting that gas power generation facilities will remain necessary due to the intermittency of renewables and current limitations of battery technology. In earlier appearances, D'Aniello discussed the competitive advantages of large private equity firms, stating that size and brand serve as discriminators that allow larger firms to close deals based on relationships and banking capabilities. He said that Carlyle has expanded its portfolio globally and noted that Asia has become a more important part of the firm, with about 16% of its assets under management in the region and nine offices there. D'Aniello also spoke about the shift toward private capital investing, describing it as being "closer to the asset" and involving hands-on management of portfolio companies. He emphasized the importance of trust in business, stating that "people invest and do deals and transactions with people they know, like and trust."
“When back in the 80s private equity really was sort of a cottage industry — it was basically a bootstrap business: buying an asset, financing it, letting the cash flow pay down the debt, and when you exited the paydown effectively was your equity return.”
“In the 90s the industry got a shot in the arm because many pension funds — corporate and public — were looking for ways to earn higher alpha as they faced growing pension liabilities, so they allocated more to alternative investments and that opened huge opportunities for private equity.”
“We haven't specifically done what I would call an ESG fund — rather we think ESG is laced across all of our activities, products and geographies; being a good citizen where you do business and how you do business is important and the environment and climate issues are on top of our minds.”
“Internally we've observed that boards on our portfolio companies that have more than 30% minority membership actually have a higher return than those that don't — whether coincidence or broader perspectives, that's a meaningful correlation.”
“There is one area we avoid: thermal coal mines and we don't invest in coal‑fired plants — although we might invest to convert a coal plant to a cleaner form — and most of our growth in power is going to be in wind, solar, biomass and other renewables.”
“You still need what they call peers — generally gas power generation facilities — because the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow all the time; battery technology isn't yet at a level to fill that demand, so peers will be around for a long time.”
“Nuclear energy will never be super big but it is the cleanest and once it's up it's a very low‑costing source of energy; alternative energies might provide on the order of 25–30% (or a bit more) of America's energy needs, but they won't fulfill all of it.”
“The evolution of the internet and technology was a tremendous impact because of the democratization of finance, information and communications — it provided a platform on which new business models were created, including new asset classes like cryptocurrency.”
“The data suggests a sobering global reality: for every ton of carbon we don't emit in one place, it often gets emitted somewhere else — a real challenge on the world stage for climate policy.”
“Well obviously there's a lot of money chasing fewer deals but it depends on where you look in the industry as to whether it has an impact. It might have an impact on the smaller firms; at larger firms it really doesn't because the size is a discriminator and also brand with respect to understanding an industry silo and...”
“We've been saying that there's a lot of dry powder out there for a long time and sort of the question is where do you invest this dry powder. We've been able to expand our portfolio of opportunities around the world in a specific way where most people can have difficulty accessing outside their own area of expertise.”
“The idea of being able to be on the ground with people that are native to the country with a financial network that allows those people to draw on the expertise across the firm gives a competitive advantage that goes beyond just the amount of dry powder.”
“Not all dry powder is created equal. Generally speaking, publicly traded markets don't reflect the fundamental nature of the economies like they had in the past. Stock markets are dominated in terms of value by digital and new-age information age businesses, so looking at equity markets as a viable investment means pay...”
“There is a shift toward private companies and private capital investing because we're closer to the asset. We're not playing the trading game on stock market boards across the world; what we're doing is fundamental stuff with our hands on the wheel where we control companies or have significant influence on companies s...”
“With all of the dry powder out there and all of the high valuations, it's difficult for investors to keep their money deployed and that's the challenge that's trying to be met by permanent capital or things like permanent capital.”
KBRA released the first of a two-part conversation with Dan D'Aniello, co-founder of The Carlyle Group. In this episode, William ...
Daniel D'Aniello, co-founder and chairman emeritus of The Carlyle Group, discusses the evolution of private equity. Topics ...
Daniel D'Aniello, co-founder and chairman emeritus of The Carlyle Group, discusses the evolution of private equity. Topics ...
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